Pop, Parker meet up with old friends tonight at Charlotte

It will be a battle of old friends Monday night when the Spurs travel to Charlotte to meet the Bobcats.

One of Gregg Popovich’s coaching mentors is veteran Charlotte coach Larry Brown, who allowed Popovich to spend a year as a volunteer coach at Kansas before hiring him as an assistant for his Spurs staff.

And Charlotte forward Stephen Jackson was a member of the Spurs’ 2003 championship team.

Jackson’s temper has been a recent story line for the 1-5 Bobcats, who arrive tonight after back-to-back losses to Detroit and Orlando after notching their only victory of the season at New Jersey last week.

Jackson was fined $50,000 Saturday, allegedly for verbally abusing game officials following Friday’s loss to the Pistons.

“I got fined for talking to myself,” Jackson told reporters after Charlotte’s 91-88 loss to Orlando. “I walked off the court, upset about the outcome of the game. I guess they had a camera following me all the way to the tunnel, where I wasn’t even in sight of the referees and (someone) read my lips.”

Jackson’s past record might have been part of the reason. He was whistled for 13 technicals last season, leading the team and ranking tied for fourth in the league.

And his struggles with game officials might have been accountable for his struggles in the Orlando loss. Jackson clanked his way through a 7-for-19 shooting night with four turnovers.

Brown’s disappointment starts with his sputtering offense. The Bobcats rank next-to-last in the league in scoring (90.0 points per game) despite ranking 11th in field-goal percentage (46.1 percent). The biggest reason for the early discord has been their sloppiness as the Bobcats rank second in the league in turnovers (18.7 per game) ranking only behind Washington.

One of few bright spots was Gerald Wallace, who produced season-best totals of 25 points and 14 rebounds against the Magic.

And Brown’s young group is coming along defensively. During their first three games, the Bobcats allowed their opponents to average 101 points on 48 percent shooting. But over their last three games, Bobcats opponents averaged 90 points on 42 percent shooting. They limited Orlando to 42 percent and outrebounded the Magic, 40-37, in the loss Saturday night.

Charlotte has won only two of 12 previous games in its brief history against San Antonio, although the Bobcats did snap a six-game losing streak to the Spurs with a win in Charlotte last season.

Charlotte backup center Kwame Brown is close to returning to the lineup after missing the entire preseason and Charlotte’s first six games with a sprained ankle.